This is a bit old news by this point, but the A's sent Aaron Harang to the
minors, just as I feared they would. John Halama is going to be the fifth
starter to start the season. Now, a lot of Harang's case for the job is founded
on the usual spring training optimism about his having lost weight, allowing him
to keep the ball down, and so on. But Halama's case for the job is simple
optimism without even the usual spring training drivel, as he's been pitched
miserably, giving up runs in bunches.

A rotation of four lefties is a neat novelty, but not when that fourth lefty is
a terrible starting pitcher. Halama's performance as a starter has been
wretched in recent years. Maybe he can turn it around. Maybe Rick Peterson will
continue his quest to become the new "miracle worker," tracing the paths of Don
Gullett and Leo Mazzone before him.

But I'm not optimistic. I'm afraid Halama's going to be terrible, not even
giving himself value in a trade, forcing the A's to cut bait and bring Harang up
to do the job he should have been doing all along. Harang's just a placeholder
for guys like Rich Harden and John Rheinecker anyway, and this is just a
fifth starter job we're talking about, so maybe it's not worth getting worked up
over.

And really, one of the major miracles that Peterson has worked has been
pioneering new techniques and reworking old ones for keeping his pitchers
healthy. So, like as not, Halama won't even have the decency to strain a groin
or something and go on the List (term stolen from Will Carroll) so he can go Wally
Pipp on us in favor of Harang's Lou Gehrig.